Autumn Arrives

Once again, the last day of summer in the northern hemisphere is upon us. It harkens to us to harvest the bounty of the growing season that now comes to a close, alongside stocking up on all that we may need to stay warm, nourished, and comfortable through the colder seasons ahead. Autumn is a time of turning inward, retrospection, and introspection.

In any inward turning practice we gain traction and perspective. Just as the seasonal change calls to us to be mindful of our gains as well as our needs, a practice of introspection does the same.

My birthday is this week, and with every successful revolution I make around the sun, I, in accordance with the seasonal invitation look back, review, and plan for the future, at the end of one cycle and the beginning of a new.

This year has brought with it many changes in my life, some I was seeking though perhaps did not know at the time, others I was unaware I wanted or needed and resisted as they slowly took hold. One thing I can say for sure, not much of the changes that have transpired in my life over the last year were ones I were directly seeking out, and in truth I have had a year of adjusting to life as it appeared in front of me, rather than living a life I “choose”. Some say all of the life we experience is of our own creation, I tend to believe this to be true. This reality is hard to agree with when life is so full of circumstances that appear far off from what it is our hearts and minds desire, yet as I have come to learn over and over again, life does get you where you want to go, even when it takes its own route. Truly I know, that even though my year has been hard, it has been valuable. I also know that someday I will look back on the experiences of this time in my life with gratitude, because as they say, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Lately I have added, and if it does kill you, you’re free. The true challenge as I see it then, is to be free, here, now, no matter the circumstances and experience beneath and beyond our skin.